Last Friday, Oct. 5, Rohnert Park played host to one of the most anticipated matches of the season, as the No. 17 Tritons faced off against No. 13 Sonoma. The two teams battled to an anti-climatic 0-0 draw.

“I think we played a lot better than we had the weekend before,” senior midfielder Jessica Wi said. “It wasn’t our best game, but we knew we needed to step it up and we did.”

Despite the tie, UCSD keeps its distance from second-place CSU Los Angeles. The post-season race in the South Division has largely cooled, with CSU Los Angeles and CSU San Bernardino five and seven points behind first place, respectively.

Conversely, the draw brought Sonoma one game closer to CSU Stanislaus (7-1) — debatably the hottest team in the CCAA, having logged nine straight wins. On Sunday, Oct. 7, UCSD took a 4-1 win from a Humboldt team that’s been banned in 2012 from participating as part of the conference due to an NCAA hazing infraction.

Senior defender Hayley Johnson scored two for the Tritons, both off free-kick opportunities from near 20 yards out. The defender is UCSD’s third leading scorer with four goals, just behind Wi, with five, and sophomore midfielder Cassie Callahan, with six.

The Tritons are now 6-1-2 in conference, 8-1-2 overall.

UCSD will return to RIMAC Arena this Friday, Oct. 12. The Tritons will host CSU Los Angeles at 7:00 p.m. The following Sunday, the Tritons head back on the road to face CSU Dominguez Hills.

“Against [CSU Los Angeles] we want to build on everything we’ve been working on this season and play to the team’s full potential,” Wi said.

“It’s always a competitive game against [CSU Los Angeles], we just want to go out and prove that we’re one of the best, if not the best team in the conference.”